I have a 2003 GT and from day one the hood is almost impossible to close. I took it to two dealers and they said that is how it is!! I have to drop it from a distance of a foot and a half for it to close. Does anyone know how to cure this problem?

 

Mine requires a solid drop (with a bit of downforce) from 1 foot or so--I sort of chalk it up to it's musclecar heritage,a throwback to the way things used to be; kinda like the headlight switch

 

Thats hot my hood is. I think that they are all like that.

 

Yep, mine is the same way too.

 

Same here

 

mine isnt like that?

 

yaaayyyy i finally get to say MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE

 

all the hoods on every mustang i owned took a drop. if it doesnt your latch is broken
congrats on your new to you car! LOL, be safe

 

all 3 of the SN95 Mustang I owned have been like that!

 

my 2 sn95s were like that. if feels like you are beating on your car, but it has to be done.


actually so was my fox. but the 65 was way better. Funny how the only one of my stangs that didn't have a prop rod for the hood was the 1965....

 

Same here, both mine needed a solid drop to close. the noise it makes causes you to cringe, but that is just how it is!

 

actually, this way of closing the hood has me somewhat worried about adding a Cobra R hood to my GT

 

A bit late to the party but

You can spray wd-40 on the locking mechanism to help it close better. Spray it on there, open the hood, spray it again, and drop the hood about 3 times to make it really soaked in. You should notice it latching easier.

 

Thanks for the suggestion on the WD40. I have tried that and didn't get any results that I could see. It boils down to bad design in my mind. My son has an 07 GT and it closes very easily so maybe I should get a new one!!!

 

Dont use WD40 as it disolves any real grease on there. SOmething you can use is White Lithium grease which will last alot longer than WD40 and also wont remove any grease already present in the locking mechanism.

 

I have a cobra r hood and I have to drop mine like that I spent 2 hours playing around with the alignment of the latch and it doesn't get any better

 

By any chnace does anyone know if there is an aftermarket hood latch that will allow the hood to be closed "gently"?
Also, does anyone have gas struts on the hood so the prop rod can be removed? If so, is the same issue present where the hood has to be slamed to close it?

 

What is the big deal here???

This is classic American car hood-closing behaviour. And as far as I can tell, after opening and closing the hood of my '03 GT at least 100 times since I've owned it, it does not seem to harm anything--it's just a good solid latching mechanism...

 

Mine was the same way while I had that heavy ole factory hunk of detroit metal. I know have a 15 lb, carbon, flow through, 00 Cobra R style hood that STILL takes the same amount of force. I simply let it rest on the latch , place a palm near the front and give it a firm shove. Latches in solid, has never come up/loose. I DO however (being aftermarket and all) have a slightly annoying height difference from about 1/3 from the front back to the hinge on the left side , and about half that on the right. Hood being lower than the fender that is.
Anybody know if a good body shop could shave the fender/fill the hood to make the seam even? Is it even worthwhile?

 

I have to drop mine from about a foot or so as well. One of the quirks guys.